BP Unfiltered

A Quick Look At Daniel Hudson

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After a breakout season in 2011, Daniel Hudson struggled through 45 1/3 innings with a 7.35 ERA in 2012 before being shut down this past week with a tear of his ulnar collateral ligament. Nick Piecoro spoke to Hudson about his elbow's soreness.

"With my arm action, I just kind of figured it came with the territory," Daniel Hudson said of his sore elbow.

Our resident pitching mechanics expert Doug Thorburn had this to say of the 25-year-old right-hander:

Daniel Hudson has a big upper-body load in his delivery, particularly as he reaches the throwing arm back prior to trunk rotation. He also delays rotation in order to increase his hip-shoulder separation, which helps the radar gun readings but also creates the risk of elbow drag if he delays rotation for too long. Hudson will exhibit elbow drag when pitches are not perfectly timed, which is a precursor to elbow injury, so in that sense it "comes with the territory." That said, nothing is inevitable, particularly if the athlete has the functional strength and flexibility to support his delivery.